Prologue

Akane was at it again. It wasn’t Ranma’s fault that she was too slow
to get out of the way of the splashing water. If he’d known she was going
to be there, he would’ve waited a moment before tossing his father in
the pond. But no, as usual, she refused to listen to his explanation and
tried to throw one of the large rocks in the pond at him. When that failed,
she resorted to using an extra-dimensional hammer and chased him halfway
across town. He probably would’ve eluded her if he hadn’t run into the
alley full of cats. It was by accident that he ran over the pursuing Akane
while fleeing in terror from the felines.

The cats threw him off so much that he only narrowly dodged Tsubasa,
who happened to be disguised as a tree and running for his life. Unfortunately,
Ranma was so out of position because of the evasion he got run over by
Captain Ai, who was chasing Tsubasa and shouting how she was going to
kill him for molesting “her” Ukyou. Naturally, Ukyou was pursuing Ai,
shouting that she could defend her own honor and she was not Ai’s anything.
The chef then ran over the fallen Ranma, pausing long enough to apologize
for stepping on him before continuing her chase. Of course, Ryouga was
following Ukyou, and stopped long enough to hit Ranma with a Shi Shi Houkoudan
(Ranma was going to have to learn a counter to that soon) before continuing
the chase. Kyoko stomped on the thoroughly pummeled Ranma while chasing
her “Ryouga-kun.”

The parade wasn’t over yet, as Ranma was then stepped on by a nutcase
with a bunch of white lilies, and carrying an unconscious Mousse. They
were followed by Kodachi, who skipped across Ranma’s head while shouting
at Asuka to give back “her” Mousse.

It got worse. Azusa roller-skated on by Ranma’s sprawled out form, and
took ‘Alexander’ from him. Alexander was the dragon’s whisker that tied
Ranma’s hair in a pigtail and prevented his hair from growing at a phenomenal
rate. Without it, he would have to get a haircut and shave every twelve
hours or so. He spent the rest of the day chasing after Azusa. No easy
task, since she was far faster on skates than he could ever hope to be
on foot. He eventually got her to slow down long enough that he made a
deal with her. He would win her a dozen cute stuffed animals at one of
the carnivals in town in return for Alexander. That meant he wasted away
the early part of the evening winning “Claudette, Marie, Jean-Paul,” and
a host of other cute friends for Azusa. On what he thought was a nice
gesture she offered to give him a quick lift home, by carrying him while
on her skates, since he had given her so many cute things. It turned out
it was the wrong thing to do.

When they got to the dojo the door flew open, and a disheveled Akane
stood before the duo. When her eyes set upon Ranma she started screaming
and ranting about how when he hit her, she was stunned so much that some
guy on horseback named Sentaro was able to kidnap her. Then she got caught
up in some idiotic Martial Arts Tea Ceremony bit, not to mention fighting
a monkey. After she got frustrated with being called an “uncoordinated,
untalented, unfeminine, hopeless girl” by the Cologne-like troll that
was Sentaro’s grandmother, Akane lost it and destroyed the house she was
supposed to be imprisoned in. And she warned not to ask what happened
to the monkey. To top things off, she was not home more than five minutes
only to discover that her fiancée was too busy to rescue her, because
he was on a date with a kleptomaniac skater.

The only thing that kept Ranma from being hammered into a pile of goo
on the spot was that Azusa plucked ‘Felicia’ from out of Akane’s grasp,
then skated off with her new friend, Akane’s hammer. Akane could not stand
the thought of losing one of her “friends” and ran off after Azusa, leaving
Ranma alone and angry. She had not even given him a chance to explain
why it was not his fault. She always did that. He entered the house while
coming up with a whole new set of unsavory names for his fiancée.

Shampoo looked nervously at Ranma as he stalked off to his room. She
took a deep breath and stepped right in front of him, blocking his path.

“Ranma,” she began, “Shampoo have question for you.”

“What?!” he snapped.

The tone in his voice almost caused Shampoo to bolt, but she stood her
ground. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. “You no like Akane, right?”

“Then we meet in front of the pet store on Gamera Street at four o’clock
tomorrow. Is all right?” Shampoo asked.

“Err… Yeah. I guess so,” Ranma muttered in reply.

Shampoo ran off leaving Ranma to scratch his head. Why did she want to
meet him there? Whenever they went out somewhere, like to roller skate
or eat out on the nights Akane tried to cook, they always left from the
dojo. Maybe she had some errands to run. Now that he thought about it,
the way she said “go out” seemed a little strange. Any further thoughts
along that line were cut off by a bellow of rage from Akane. From the
sounds of it she had not managed to get back Felicia and was blaming Ranma
for that as well. He chose to retreat and allow Akane some time to cool
off, like maybe two or three days.

Shampoo was so happy, she bounced through the house in glee. Ranma had
accepted without a word of protest. It could only mean one thing. He wanted
to go out with her the entire time. She should have asked sooner. Now
there were too many things to do. Since she had been uncertain whether
or not Ranma would have accepted, she had not thought beyond telling him
where to meet to receive the thing he wanted so badly. She hoped it was
not too close to the place, but it did not seem likely Ranma would think
that far ahead. There were other things to consider as well, like what
to wear. Most of her wardrobe consisted of clothing that was used to accommodate
her curse. Which meant most of it was too loose for her taste. She wanted
something to show off her attributes to impress Ranma. A new dress might
be called for. There was also the task of finding a place to eat out afterwards,
something with the right atmosphere, meaning a location that was painfully
romantic. A place so romantic even Ranma would pick up on the ambiance.

Shampoo continued bouncing gleefully through the kitchen, catching Kasumi’s
attention. The eldest Tendo looked up from the pot she was stirring and
smiled at the Amazon. “What happened?”

Shampoo slowed down long enough to explain. “Ranma agree to go on a date
with Shampoo.”

She bounded from the kitchen and off to her room. Kasumi watched her
go then returned her attention to the soup. “That’s nice. Ranma and Shampoo
are going on a date.” The ladle slipped from her fingers and into the
kettle.

Chapter 17: Pursuit and Capture

All comments and criticisms appreciated. You can contact me at sommer@3rdm.net

What’s gone on before (or what you need to know to enjoy this fic). In
the beginning, the Saotomes traveled to Jusenkyou and began to spar, not
realizing Shampoo and Mousse had already begun a duel there. One mid-air
collision and bath in Spring of Young Drowned Man later, we have a male
Shampoo as well as a female Ranma. (So Ranma-chan= female Ranma. Shampoo-kun=
male Shampoo. Enjoy). Shampoo elected to travel to Japan with Ranma and
accidentally ended up engaged to Kasumi. After that was cleared up Ranma
became engaged to Akane. On the first day of school, water and confusion
mixed leaving everyone there believing Shampoo-kun is Ranma and Ranma-chan
is Shampoo. Last chapter, after a brief battle with a Drog, Demon of Storms,
and meeting Thor, and Sif, everyone decided to head for the beach for
some time off. Unfortunately, a bracelet with pills that, when swallowed,
make someone fall in love with the first person they see for a moment,
day, or lifetime put in an appearance. Ghost Sweeper Minami swallowed
the moment pill and kissed Gosunkugi, Kasumi swallowed the day pill and
fell in love with Shampoo-kun, and Capt. Ai of the Furinkan Cheerleader
Squad swallowed the lifetime pill and fell for Ukyou. With the Kasumi
situation resolved Shampoo has decided to do something about her feelings
for Ranma, while the Musk Dynasty has hit Japan on a trip to pick up several
things, including a magic kettle…

<> Indicates Chinese

Part 1: Dates II

The dojo saw some activity almost around the clock. Ranma gained the
courage to return very late in the evening (actually closer to early morning),
well after even Akane had gone to sleep. As the early morning came about
Shampoo headed out, skipping the morning practice sessions. When Ranma
and Genma began their morning practice, it failed to last even a minute,
as his father ended up beaten once again. Now all Ranma had to worry about
was the how Akane would react this morning.

Akane woke up to the sounds of the morning massacre. A reflexive feeling
of anger immediately filled her thoughts as she remembered Ranma had eluded
his punishment from the night before. Everything that happened yesterday
was his fault. He splashed water on her and had the nerve to accuse her
of being slow for not getting out of the way. He made her chase him halfway
across town, and then went so far as to hit her in the head with his knee
for pursuing him. To make matters worse, she was so stunned that she got
run over by a crazy boy on a horse. The last thing she remembered before
losing consciousness was that he was ranting how he had at last found
his bride.

She regained consciousness only to discover she was being held prisoner
in Sentaro’s (the boy’s) house, and forced to try to learn Martial Arts
Tea Ceremony fighting skills at the hands of his grandmother and pet monkey.
During the entire time she expected Ranma to come and rescue her, but
the jerk never showed. So it fell to her to engineer her own escape. Leaving
took time and effort, but she managed to get out of the house, while ruining
her clothes in the process. But the absolute worst was coming home in
time to discover why Ranma had not come to her rescue. He was on a date
with the Shiratori girl. If Azusa’s stealing Akane’s hammer to save Ranma
was not proof of that, she did not know what would be. How unfortunate
the skater had bought enough time for Ranma to flee. Today nothing would
save him.

She had to come up with something that would really get to him. Something
he would remember for a long time to come. That was when her eyes fell
upon the tickets. That was the way to go about it. She would display the
tickets, and then destroy them right before his eyes. That would show
him. She went downstairs with the pieces of paper in hand. Ranma would
no doubt be getting ready for breakfast. Well he was going to get something
to chew on.

She reached the bottom of the stairs only to be confronted by Ranma,
who looked just as surprised at her presence there as well. Even to Akane’s
eyes he appeared tense, no doubt waiting for her to make the first move.
She was not going to keep him waiting. She held out her hand with the
tickets, making certain Ranma could read the writing on them. “You know
what these are, Ranma?”

Ranma read the tickets and appeared in shock. How had Akane gotten tickets
to the premiere of the Jackie Chan film he had wanted to see so badly?
And why was she holding them right before his eyes? The situation did
not make any sense. Why was she not angry with him, like she was yesterday?
It took a moment, but the answer occurred to him. She was trying to apologize
for her behavior. That could be the only explanation. Of course that explanation
nearly caused him to pass out. The idea that Akane would not only apologize,
but go out of her way to make him feel better, was a bit much to take.
Still, if she was willing to make the first peace gesture than he was
going to accept it.

Ranma darted his hands forward, embracing Akane’s hand with the tickets.
“Akane. Thank you. This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done
for me.”

Akane was caught off guard by Ranma’s gesture. He was actually holding
her hand willingly and acting grateful for what might have been the first
time since they had met. He was behaving in an almost normal manner. There
was a great deal of difficulty in trying to hold onto her anger, as she
felt it slipping away while he held her hand. Worse yet, he was now smiling
at her, causing the hatred to disappear at an even faster rate. Damn him!

“I can’t imagine what you must have gone through to get them.” Ranma
really had no idea where she could have gotten them at the last minute
like this. Maybe she made a deal with Nabiki. “I really appreciate it.”
He was going to the movie after all.

That did it. His open appreciation removed the final bits of anger she
had been holding in. “You’re right. Getting them wasn’t easy.”

His face reflected the sympathy he felt. “When are the tickets for?”

“Today. They’re for the premiere.” Akane could not help smiling in return.
Ranma’s happiness was infectious. She knew he was going to say something
stupid and ruin the moment. He always did.

Surprisingly he did not. Rather he asked if he could hold onto the tickets
for safekeeping until they could go the movie. Akane could do nothing
but agree as the two separated, happier than they had been at the start
of the morning.

Shampoo looked through the dresses again. She had the two favorites in
her hands. None of the others came close to catching her interest the
way these two had, but it was a difficult selection. Each dress had a
mix of red and green she rather liked. One was an off-the-shoulder number,
and the other was a high-necked, sleeveless gown. She absolutely loved
the slit along the side that would serve to show off her leg. A difficult
decision.

The salesman working the store noticed the indecision Shampoo displayed
and decided to give his assistance. He properly introduced himself as
Shinjiro and offered to help.

“Which one look prettier?” Shampoo asked as she held up the two dresses.

She still could not contain her excitement and began to jump around.
“I go out on a date with Ranma.”

He smiled. “First date?” She nodded as he continued. “Are you trying
to impress him, or blow him away?”

She considered that. “I want him to think I’m beautiful.”

“Honey,” he reassured her. “You could be dressed in a gunny sack and
still look gorgeous.” That caused Shampoo to blush as the man carefully
evaluated her. “Your shoulders are magnificent, so you don’t have to worry
about looking bad in the shoulderless one. It shows a good bit of cleavage
as well, but that other one might be more elegant. I’ll tell you what,
why don’t you try both of them on and I’ll give you my opinion?”

It seemed like a reasonable request, so she did as he recommended. She
tried on both, ending up in the high collared one.

Shinjiro examined every inch of her both times, taking twice as long
with the high collared one. “I was right. You look stunning in both, but
there is something about the one you’re in now that calls out to me.”

Shampoo had been leaning towards the first one. “This one a little too,”
she searched for the right word, “conservative.”

Shinjiro placed his hand to his chin in thought. “I can make alterations.”

Shampoo thought she knew what this was leading to, an increase in commission.
“How much extra it cost?”

“For you, my dear, nothing. Call me a romantic, but I want you to look
perfect for this date.” He looked her over carefully. “So you want to
show more, eh?”

She nodded.

“Well, we’ll cut out a diamond at the top to show off some of what’s
there.” He showed her where the diamond would be. It would leave an opening
from the bottom of the collar to the inside top of her breasts.

“Can you cut out more?” Shampoo asked.

“You want to look exotic, not like a prostitute,” he warned. “You have
to maintain some restraint while showing off. Go for a hint, rather than
revealing everything. Men like a little mystery.” He continued showing
her what alterations he would make as Shampoo began fidgeting with the
slit along the leg. “What’s wrong?”

“Is it cut high enough?” she asked.

“If it were cut any higher it would be scandalous,” he assured her.

She considered that. “Raise it three inches.”

Shinjiro smiled. It would not be too much, so it should work. He finished
making the marks for the alterations.

“How long this take?” It seemed to Shampoo that the man might be making
too many alterations to fit in the time frame she had. She informed him
it needed to be done by four.

“I’ll have it done by three. They don’t call me the ‘Sewing King’ for
nothing,” he assured her. The two began to chat as he worked on some of
the fittings. “Where are you two going?”

Shampoo smiled. “There a new Jackie Chan movie he wants to see very much.
It big premiere tonight.”

“Oh, yes. So I’ve heard. Must have been hard to get tickets.”

Shampoo shrugged. “No. It easy.” Very easy, as she remembered it…

The people had been camped out in line for a whole day, save the small
ninja in the front of the line who had been waiting there for two days.
The doors opened and the first people were ushered in. Just as Sasuke
pulled out his wallet, one of the far walls exploded. Shampoo walked out
from the demolished wall and cheerfully waved to everyone.

“Nihao! Is this the place to get movie tickets?”

Everyone nodded mutely.

“Aiya! That great.” Shampoo moved to the booth and plopped down the money.
“Two please.”

The ticket sellers gave her the tickets and watched her leave by demolishing
yet another wall. The guy behind Sasuke tapped him on the shoulder.

“Why’d you let her cut in line, man?”

Sasuke appeared nervous. “Would you want to argue with someone that walks
through walls?”

The man just looked sheepishly at Sasuke.

Shampoo came back to the present as Shinjiro began talking again. “This
seems a bit extravagant for a movie. Anything else planned?”

Shampoo considered that. “I going to take him to nice place to eat, but
I not know where.”

He smiled at that. “For young couples in love, there is only one place
to go. The restaurant at the top of the Kanemoto Towers. That’s assuming
he’s not afraid of heights.”

Shampoo smiled back. “Heights, no. Cats, yes.”

Shinjiro looked quizzically at her so she explained. He nodded in understanding.
“I see. Well there are no felines there, I assure you. Now, usually you
need reservations at least two weeks in advance, but I know a maitre’d
there. I’ll call and tell him to expect a party of two under your name.
It’s a bit pricey, but well worth it.”

Shampoo smiled at the man, but was a bit confused. She never knew anyone
who went out of their way for a stranger such as herself. “Why you so
nice to me?”

He gave her a winsome smile in return. “I remember what it’s like to
be young and in love. There’s no feeling quite like it in the world. Treasure
every moment the two of you have tonight. You only get to go out for the
first time once.”

Shampoo was in front of the pet store right before four o’clock. Shinjiro
was correct; the dress was beautiful. And judging by the number of admiring
stares she received, as well as the guys that tried to pick her up, they
must have agreed. The dress had used almost all of the funds she had gotten
from the martial arts exhibition she had put on for the school. There
would be enough left for the dinner that night, but not much more after
that. She allowed her thoughts to drift back to where most of the money
had gone. Ranma’s project was finally complete, and she would give it
to him when their date was over. It was an unexpectedly important gift
that’s timing was just perfect.

Their date. Even the words seemed to excite her. After so many things
having gone wrong in her life the last few months, like the curse and
being forced to leave both her home and people, she could now say she
was truly happy. It was perfect. No more loneliness. She at long last
had a true companion to share absolutely everything with. Now all she
had to do was wait for him to show up. Hopefully Ranma would be early;
she was anxious for things to get underway.

Maybe it was foolish of her to tell him to meet her here, but if they
left together from the dojo, it might have attracted the wrong sort of
element. Namely anyone but Kasumi. There would have been some sort of
protest from Genma and Soun, since they wanted Ranma and Akane together.
Never mind the fact that they did not love each other. Akane would get
jealous, simply because she never wanted Ranma to have any fun. And Nabiki
would find some way to make money out of the situation.

Four o’clock became four-oh-five, then four-ten. Ranma was late, and
the line in front of the theater, which was down and across the street,
was starting to get long. It probably was to be expected, but she had
hoped the importance of the occasion would have forced him to be on time.
Four-ten became four-fifteen, and then four-fifteen became four-twenty.
Every moment was taking forever, and Shampoo was becoming panicked. What
if something had happened to Ranma? What if he had been attacked by Mousse
and Kodachi? What if they had gotten lucky and beaten him? What if her
great-grandmother had come out of hiding and kidnapped him to use as leverage
against her? What if Akane had found out about the date and hammered him
into oblivion? What if he had mistakenly eaten some of the violent tomboy’s
cooking?

Her mind raced with all the possibilities. Too many bad things could
have happened. Shampoo could not even use a phone, because there were
no public ones around. And if she went inside a store, Ranma might come,
not see her, and walk off. He had to be all right.

Four-thirty rolled around, and she was about to try to place a phone
call anyway, taking the chance of missing him, when she at last saw him
come from around the corner at the other end of the street. She was about
to run over and glomp onto him when she noticed he was not alone. Akane
was smiling at him and walking alongside.

Shampoo was in shock. He had brought HER along on their date? What kind
of an idiot was he? Did he not even realize it was supposed to be a date?
She knew the boy was dense, but even he should have realized what she
had meant when she asked him out. A cross expression rose on her face.
Ranma was going to be given a piece of her mind when he made his way over
to her. This was supposed to be a special evening with just the two of
them. Now it was ruined. That was when Shampoo got her second surprise.
Ranma did not come over to where she was. Instead, he walked directly
over to the long line in front of the theater and waited there with Akane,
not even glancing Shampoo’s way. The world came crashing down around her.
It was so obvious what had happened.

Shampoo had been stood up for Akane.

Hiroshi walked the streets, alone. Daisuke had actually managed to get
a date with Malia, which left Hiroshi alone. Life just was not fair. He
had to find some girl to go out with. Any girl. That was when he saw a
vision of heaven fill his sight. It took him a moment to recognize the
purple haired girl in the ravishing dress before him. Shampoo Saotome,
Ranma Saotome’s sister. He had seen her only a handful of times around
town, and never with her brother. The girl was currently standing alone,
which meant she was fair game. He made certain every hair was in place
as he approached Shampoo. “Hi, there. I’m Hiroshi, one of Ranma’s friends.
I was wondering, how would you like to go somewhere?”

Shampoo did not even move in response, but continued staring across the
street. Hiroshi cleared his throat. “I know this is kind of sudden, but
I thought you’d like some company.” She still did not respond, causing
Hiroshi to scratch his head in confusion. Was she brushing him off? “I’m
sorry. Did you want to be alone?”

She turned towards him then, and he knew the look of total desolation
on her face was going to haunt him the rest of his life. She said only
one statement in reply as the movie tickets fell from her hand and she
walked off.

“I am alone.”

Ranma and Akane left the theater in high spirits. Ranma was much happier
than Akane.

“Man, that was the best one yet!” Ranma was practically jumping up and
down in joy.

Akane smiled back. She had to admit, it was pretty enjoyable, even if
she was not a big action movie fan. Seeing Ranma practically bursting
at the seams with happiness gave her an unexpectedly warm feeling inside.
She turned to him. “So, I guess now that the movie’s over we should head
back.”

Ranma demeanor changed as he stopped jumping around and looked at Akane.
“Well, it’s still early, and it’s not like I have anything to do tonight.”
His voice started to gain an anxious tone. “We don’t gotta’ go back right
away. We could, y’know, do something else.”

Akane’s smile broadened. “I’d like that. We haven’t eaten yet, so I guess
we could do that. Let me see if I have enough money.” She started to go
through her purse when Ranma told her to stop. She scowled at him, fearing
he changed his mind. “Why?”

“Well, since you got the tickets and everything, I think maybe I should,
y’know,” he appeared hesitant to say something. “Pay for it.”

Akane shook her head. “It’s okay. I can pay. After all, I asked you out.”
She panicked a bit when she realized what she said. “Not that it’s a date!”

Ranma appeared just as nervous. “Of course not! It’s no date. We’re just
going out to a movie and dinner. We can do that and it’s not a date. It’s
just a friendly, ummm, get-together.”

Akane nodded her head in agreement. “Right.”

“Now that that’s settled, I can pay for the dinner. I got enough money
for that.” Ranma counted out what he had in his pockets. “Nothing too
fancy, though.”

Akane assented and the two went to find a nice place they could afford.
They had not gone far when Ranma stopped and sniffed the air. “You know
something? All night I keep smelling this odd scent somewhere around me.”

Akane sniffed the air and realized what the scent was. Her mood began
to darken. “You mean it stinks?”

Ranma shook his head. “No. It smells kind of nice.” He leaned closer
to Akane. “I think it’s from you.”

“Oh! That.” She began to blush. “I, ah, spilled some perfume on me. I
guess the scent didn’t come off.”

Ranma shrugged. “Well, it smells nice.”

He resumed his walk while Akane remained lost in thought. There was no
reason for her to lie about the perfume. She had put it on at the last
moment quite voluntarily. She silently decided she lied because Ranma
was stupid, and would have thought that if she wore perfume he might think
she might be thinking it was a date. It was not. There was not any reason
in the world why a girl could not wear perfume whenever she wanted. That
reasoning seemed to hold up to her as the two continued on their way.

The dinner had gone well, and neither had gotten into an argument all
night. The couple had even taken a stroll through the park after dinner.
The walk had not lasted long as there was nothing but couples making out
that late in the evening, making the duo very uncomfortable. Their return
trip to the dojo was uneventful.

“No Mousse tonight,” Akane mentioned.

“Yeah. I remember the last time we went out. Watch it, though. You may
jinx us.” Ranma mockingly warned. The two started laughing as they stopped
in front of the house. “It sure went a lot better than the last time,
didn’t it?”

“Yes. It was really enjoyable. Thank you, Ranma.”

The smile Akane gave him caused Ranma to smile even wider. “You were
the one that took me out. I should thank you.” He moved slightly closer
to her.

Akane felt a pang of guilt that she had almost torn up the tickets. She
would have missed a wonderful evening if she had, and the two of them
probably still would not be talking to one another. This was so much better.
Ranma had not even said anything insulting. He came close a couple times
at the movie, but kept from inserting his foot at the last minute. She
could not tell if it was intentional or not. Something was still missing
though. She drew closer to Ranma.

“Well, we’re home.” If Ranma was implying they should go in, he made
no effort to do so.

“Yes. We are.” Akane made no move to the house either, but moved closer
to Ranma once more.

The two remained where they were, looking at one another awkwardly Neither
chose to say anything else, but rather just continued to stare at one
another. At an almost snail-like pace they drew slightly closer still.
The two were no more than a foot apart when the sound of crunching interrupted
their plodding action. The duo turned as one in the direction of the noise,
each seeing their respective fathers and Nabiki watching the proceedings
intently. Nabiki was the one who had made the sound by munching on a bag
of chips.

“Are you two just going to stand there, or are you going to go through
with it?” Nabiki asked through a full mouth, looking more than a little
annoyed at how long things were taking.

“Yes, son. Cement the bonds between our two families,” Soun urged.

“That’s right, boy. Show us you’re a man. Kiss the girl,” Genma prodded.
“Don’t mind us. Just carry on as you were.”

Ranma broke the silence first.

“Don’t be stupid! There’s no way I’d kiss an uncute tomboy like that!”

Akane whirled on Ranma. “You make it sound like you have a choice! I
wouldn’t let a pervert like you kiss me anyway!”

“Hey! You shouldn’t be so picky,” Ranma shot back. “It’s not like you
got a lot of guys lining up to kiss you,”

“Oh, and you think kissing someone that turns into a girl is something
I want to do?!” Akane fumed.

Ranma’s voice shot up some more. “It didn’t stop you before. In fact,
it seems to me I was a girl when YOU kissed ME!”

Ranma was caught off guard by the slap that followed. He never even got
a good look at Akane’s face as she stormed off into the house. The three
observers watched the proceedings in shock.

“Do you mean to say Akane kissed you, boy?” Soun asked.

“Who would have thought you had it on you? Or that she had it in her?”
Nabiki commented.

Ranma walked into the house, more depressed than any time since Shampoo
and he had made up. He had not made it more than five steps before Kasumi
stopped him.

“Ranma, have you seen Shampoo at all?” she asked.

“No I haven’t,” he replied distantly. “And to tell you the truth, I really
don’t care right now.”

Kasumi watched him leave. “But you were supposed to be with her tonight.”

Ranma headed to the roof and stared at the stars. Why did everyone have
to stick their noses in his business? It just was not fair. Everything
had been going fine until the fathers and Nabiki showed up. Who knew what
might have happened? Now, instead of remembering the good time he had,
Ranma felt nothing but depression.

Akane had run to her room and locked the door behind her, throwing herself
on the bed and burying her head under the pillows. Why did Ranma have
to screw up everything? Why couldn’t he have simply kept his mouth shut
and let the evening end on a high note? Why did he have to call her uncute?
Akane felt more depressed now than at anytime previously in the last year
then she could remember. She realized it would not have hurt so much if
they had had a lousy night out, but the fact that it had been wonderful
before was why it made the end seem so bad. The perfectly rotten ending
to a perfectly beautiful evening.

Ukyou made her way back from the meeting with the food shippers. She
always felt a little awkward hanging around all the shippers and fellow
shop owners. Everyone else was so much older than her, not that that fact
kept a lot of them from hitting on her. She would not have had to worry
about it if Ryouga had been there like last time, but he had “gone out”
with Kyoko, like it was anything other than a date. The only thing that
kept him from calling it that was that she was paying for it, the little
tramp.

A shout caught Ukyou’s attention. From up the street a little ways she
saw two people high tail it out of a bar that was located in of one of
the buildings ahead. The two men looked scared. If it were a barroom fight
that was starting up, Ukyou would join in. She needed to blow off some
steam. As she walked into the bar she beheld one of the most unexpected
sights she would have thought to have ever seen. The bar was in a state
of ruin, empty of all but six people, two of them conscious. The first
four were bouncers that had been bounced unconscious on the floor. The
fifth was a bartender cowering behind the bar itself. The final occupant
was seated at the bar.

Shampoo turned to give the newcomer an evil glare. If the person were
stupid enough not to get the hint and leave, she would “educate” them.
It was no small surprise when she saw the newcomer wore a familiar face.

“Ucchan! You come here,” Shampoo patted the seat at the empty bar next
to her. “BARKEEP!” she shouted at the man cowering behind the bar. “You
get extra drink for Ucchan and,” she took down the remainder of what was
in her glass in one gulp, making her eyes tear. “You refill for me.” She
slammed the glass on the bar.

“Dear god, she called me Ucchan!” Ukyou thought. She did not think it
was possible that Shampoo could drink that much. She accepted the Amazon’s
offer and sat down next to her. The bartender gave Ukyou a filled glass
of some kind of liquor.

Shampoo let her glass back down when she realized she was not going to
get the cheers she wanted. “Shampoo is very depressed. So Shampoo drown
sorrows. Is what you supposed to do, yes?”

“Actually, no,” Ukyou corrected. “Alcohol is a depressant. Drinking’s
one of the last things you should do when you’re feeling down.”

Shampoo ignored the comment. “You know what Shampoo going to do? Shampoo
going to get drunk, then give Ranma Kiss of Death.” She smiled evilly
at that.

The death threat to Ranma grabbed Ukyou’s attention. “Why do you want
to give Ranchan a Kiss of Death?”

A wild look entered Shampoo’s eyes. “He insult Shampoo. He mock Shampoo.
He nothing but… but…” She switched from Japanese to Chinese. Ukyou was
fairly certain from the tone of voice that more than a few choice expletives
were being used. The tirade of Chinese broke off eventually as Shampoo
took another drink.

“What do you do after you give him the Kiss of Death?” Ukyou asked.

The Amazon looked bewildered. “Shampoo kill, of course. Then Shampoo…
then…” she trailed off, confused once more until she had a solution on
what action should follow. “…then Shampoo marry Kasumi. She a nice girl
that will no lie to Shampoo. Shampoo can trust her.”

So that was it. She felt Ranma had lied to her. Ukyou could certainly
relate to that. The part about Kasumi was a surprise though. “Say, if
you’re interested in women, I’ve got an attractive cheerleader I’d be
willing to part with. I’d even throw in a free transvestite to boot.”

Shampoo made a face at that suggestion. “I no like Ai. She a mean, nasty
girl.”

Ukyou began to think about how her life was turning out and decided to
ignore her own advice from before. “I think I’ll have that drink, now.”
She began to sip from her glass. It was not more than five minutes before
Shampoo stood up and made an announcement.

“BARKEEP! Shampoo go to sleep now.” And with that she collapsed in a
heap.

Ukyou finished her drink, picked the Amazon up, and threw the girl over
her back. She turned to the bartender. “I’m sure she’ll pay for all the
damages.”

The bartender crouched behind the bar, convinced Shampoo was going to
come around again. “I don’t give a damn about the damages! Just get her
out of here and never let her come back!” He watched the girls leave.
“Damn! That crazed bitch sure reminded me of my ex-wife. Forgot how much
I miss her.”

Ukyou agreed to the deal and headed out. Unless Shampoo knew some secret
Chinese remedy for hangovers, she was going to have one horrible day when
she woke up. Ukyou looked at the girl’s face. Shampoo looked miserable
even in unconsciousness. For some odd reason, Ukyou felt a connection
to the Amazon that night. It had been a long time she had really talked
to anyone, and found herself spilling her soul out.

“Ryouga drives me nuts, too, but I have an idea of what my problem is.
I don’t know how to relate to him as anything other than just one of the
guys.” She looked at Shampoo’s sleeping form, which was still draped across
her back. “I never asked a guy out, you know. How could I, when I was
one of them? You’d think that would help me with them. Nah! Oh, sure,
they said what they liked in women, but I’d turn around and they would
be going out with the exact opposite. I don’t understand them, not even
after all those years.”

She sighed. “So along comes Ryouga. Now, don’t get me wrong. He’s hardly
perfect. He gets lost going to the bathroom. He’s still obsessed with
Ranchan, even after all this time, and I’ve lost count of how many times
I’ve tried to break him of that. He gets depressed at the drop of a hat.
And those are his good points.”

She felt like sighing once more. “Despite all that, I want to go out
with him. I might even be in…” She trailed off, unsure if what her feelings
were. “Oh! If only I could tell him what I feel. Better yet, I could have
been engaged to Ryouga, then it wouldn’t matter how I act. He’d already
be mine, and I wouldn’t have to worry about it. But now I’ve got to try
to learn how to get him. I’m only ten years out of practice.”

Ukyou looked at the sleeping girl again. “And I can’t be like that ‘Little
Miss Cheerleader Kyoko’. That’s not my style. I don’t want Ryouga to think
that I’m one way, then reveal to him I’m another.”

She stopped and shouted upwards to the heavens. “I am Ukyou Kuonji! I
will not change my life for any man! I did it once before, and look what
it got me! Ryouga falls for me as is, or not at all!” She quieted down
as she continued. “Unless, of course, he’s fallen for someone else already.”

Ukyou heard Shampoo begin to mumble “Ranma” under her breath. Even sleep
granted the Amazon no reprise, the poor girl. “You know. You aren’t such
a bimbo when your asleep, and I guess I needed to talk with someone. Of
course I would never have said anything if you were awake.” Ukyou shifted
her load. “You are going to owe me big time for hauling your butt like
this. And I will kill you if something happens to my back.”

The late hour did not matter to Kasumi. Shampoo still had not returned,
or contacted her in any way. It was late at night when she heard the rustling
at the door. It could have been burglars, but Kasumi threw the door open
into the night anyway. All that mattered was that her friend was all right.

Ukyou had walked up to the doorway, and was looking for a place to dump
Shampoo when Kasumi opened the door. “I didn’t think anyone would be up.”

Kasumi saw the state Shampoo was in. “What happened?!”

Ukyou could tell the eldest Tendo was in a state of near panic. She made
an effort to calm her down. “She’s okay. She just had too much to drink.
Now, tomorrow morning you may want to keep sharp objects away from her,
so she doesn’t try to end her suffering.”

Kasumi helped Ukyou bring the Amazon into the house and to Shampoo’s
room. Once the Amazon was safely tucked in, Kasumi turned to Ukyou. “It’s
late. You’re more than welcome to stay.”

Ukyou could understand why Shampoo felt Kasumi was trustworthy. The girl
was easier on the nerves than a whole bottle of Prozac. “No. I have school
tomorrow. If I don’t get to sleep now, I’ll never be able to wake up.”
And if she did not go, Ryouga might resort to asking Kyoko to help him
get to school so he did not end up in Madagascar.

Kasumi saw Ukyou to the door, and then got ready for bed herself. Things
certainly had gotten bad around the dojo. She only hoped the situation
would right itself. And poor Shampoo, Kasumi was going to have to be extra
helpful to her. At least until the Amazon could decide on a course of
action.

Interlude: Five Devils

The mountains of Japan:

The man in black stalked the ruins of the old temple. It took him a moment
to find the right spot for the spell of summoning. The next one to bring
back was much trickier than the others. He had spent so much of his life
in shadow, and that was what was needed to bring him back to this side.

“When do we get to kill someone?” The man of stone asked

“Patience, my dear,” The lady of snakes reassured him. “All in due time.”

The man in black looked upon his four minions; soon to be five. They
were proving themselves eager. That was good. The more eager, the better.
There would plenty that they would be relied upon for. Too much for his
tastes, but that was the way things worked out, sometimes.

He wasted no more time, and began the spell. “In shadows you lived. In
shadows you died. In shadows you will be reborn!”

The man’s hand flared with magical energy as a form began to take substance
from the shadow he gestured at. A bubbling could be heard from the shadow
as a pale gray skinned man broke the surface of the darkness. A mechanical
claw on the end of an arm began twitching with a life of its own.

“Five,” The man in black stated.

Part Two: Defeat

Ranma and Akane got up around the same time and headed for the breakfast
table. The angry glares they started the morning with softened somewhat
as time passed. Ranma was the first someone was missing.

“Where’s Shampoo?” Ranma asked. It was unlike the Amazon to be absent
from breakfast. She had not been sick a day since he had met her. She
may not have liked school but at least she was attentive.

“She’s sick. You’ll have to go to school without her.” Kasumi informed
everyone.

Well, she was human after all. “Too bad. Tell her I hope she feels better.”
Ranma changed to his girl form and left with the other two Tendos to school.

Shampoo got up a little after the others had left. There was the sound
of something hammering from the inside of her head and there was an unmistakable
urge to open her skull and rip out the offending object. Instead, she
lay there and suffered for a little while before hauling herself to her
feet and getting dressed. Her eyes fell upon the gift she had worked so
painstakingly on for Ranma. A gift he was never going to receive now.

The clothing was fitted over a dressmaker’s dummy Shampoo had proportioned
to Ranma’s exact size. No easy task getting those. A purple and gold Chinese
style shirt, similar to the ones Ranma always wore, was adorned on it.
It was no ordinary shirt, though. The material it was made out of was
a rare kind of silk that was cultivated only in China. She had seen only
two pieces of clothing made of the material in her entire life. Both felt
so soft and unique that she had wished all her clothes were made of it.
Legend said that the past emperors of China had kept the method it was
harvested a secret, and that there were no more than a handful of people
that knew how to raise the silk worms that wove the soft substance.

It had taken Shampoo more than a week to track down a store that had
it. The price was too great, so she got Nabiki to help her raise some
money. She had bought all the material that was at the store, just enough
to make the shirt for Ranma that was pictured in her mind. It was something
like the one he had worn for the Golden Pair fight, but it was designed
for everyday wear. Shampoo had taken weeks to sew it. There was not enough
material for there to be any errors. Every seam had to be perfect for
him. And they were, blast it! She took hours making certain not a stitch
was out of place. Fighting was not the only thing she was good at.

The designs were even more difficult. A dragon of gold, more elaborate
than the skating costume’s, dominated the shirt; but there were also some
smaller designs woven in it, as well. A pair of bonbori that were sewn
on the collar, as well as some butterflies that were here and there on
it. Shampoo always loved butterflies. All of the figures had taken forever
to get the exact detail she wanted, but as with the rest of the shirt,
they were perfect as well. It had been her heart’s desire to see Ranma
wear the attire. True, he probably would not appreciate it for what it
was, and destroy the garment in the first ten minutes he had it on. But
just so long as he wore it even for a moment, Shampoo could beam at him
in pride. Now she had to suppress the urge to tear the shirt into tiny
pieces. She had to leave immediately lest the temptation overcame her.

She managed to drag herself to the kitchen in an effort to grab something
to eat. It was no surprise Kasumi was already there.

“HELLO. HOW ARE YOU FEELING?” Kasumi asked.

Shampoo held her head. “You no need to shout.”

“I’M NOT SHOUTING,” Kasumi responded.

Shampoo was far worse than she thought, and food did not sound like such
a hot idea at the moment after all. She went back to her room to let the
worst part of the hangover pass. As she walked past the Saotome’s empty
bedroom she scowled at the door, as though it had said something unsavory
about her.

“Boys that play with girls hearts go to very bad place, Ranma.” She stared
even harder at the door. “Hope you go there soon!”

She lay down for another hour before attempting to get up again. The
second occasion was much more successful, and she grabbed some plain toast
to get something in her stomach. She stared out at the yard trying to
decide on a course of action. One of Akane’s practice dummies was out
in the yard, like a lone scarecrow, though the only thing it might ward
off would be Ranma. Like all the others, it looked a lot like Ranma. Shampoo
supposed it was one way to relieve stress. She got up and did a few warm-up
exercises just to make sure working out was not a mistake. Once she decided
her head and stomach could handle it, she began punching the dummy. It
was only a matter of moments before she shattered the target. Surprisingly,
the action had alleviated some of her stress, but there was something
missing from the exercise. Realism. An idea came to Shampoo; there was
one way to make them more realistic. She went inside the house to collect
the rest of the dummies and get the necessary materials to add that touch
of realism she wanted. Once she was done relieving her stress there were
a few other gifts she could leave Ranma.

Mint looked at his liege again. Herb had been acting very oddly since
coming to Japan, and now he was practically wriggling in anticipation
of the next visit.

“Herb, why is it so important we visit this place?” he asked.

“It is very important to me personally. There is a matter which I wish
to conclude here, and there is only one person that can help me,” Herb
explained.

Mint looked crestfallen. “You’ve been keeping a lot of things from me
and Lime lately.” Mint could not see anything but Herb’s eyes behind the
cowl, but again they looked sad.

“My friend, trust me. Soon all will be revealed, but I assure you this
has to be done before any of the other plans can be set into motion,”
Herb explained once again.

“What plans?” Mint was becoming more agitated. “You are keeping secrets
from us! You never used to do that. Why did we have to make all those
other stops, if coming to this place was so important? What do we need
Faerie’s blood for?”

Herb stopped walking and stared at Mint. “There are many things happening
that you cannot understand. Were I to tell you of them, you might let
your tongue slip and tell others. The plans are still in a vulnerable
stage. Soon things will change, and we will once again be masters of our
own destiny. Suffice it to say, you are better off not knowing what is
going to happen. It would just confuse you. You do trust me, don’t you?”

Mint nodded his head.

“Good,” Herb said, “Now I have just one question for you. Where the hell
is Lime?”

“I think he said something about trying to find a,” Mint’s voice dropped
to a whisper. “Girl.”

A sweatdrop appeared behind Herb’s head. “I’m going to kill him.”

Ukyou was not a happy person, on two counts. One was the fact that Kyoko
had decided to follow Ryouga home from school every day now, and the jackass
did not even say a word of protest. The other reason was that Ai was following
HER home now. The only thing even remotely tolerable about that, was she
did not glomp onto Ukyou the way Tsubasa did. There were, however, the
suggestions Ai whispered in her ear about all the things they could do
about furthering their relationship. Some of them caused even Ukyou to
blush. Spatulas could not be used that way, and even if they could, she
would never want to cook with one that had been utilized in the manner
Ai suggested.

Kyoko was continuing to say cute, cheery little things. She really reminded
Ukyou of Azusa Shiratori the way she was so, for lack of a better term,
cutesy.

“I’ve got an idea, Ryouga-kun,” Kyoko missed Ukyou cringe at that word.
“Why don’t the four of us go out on a double date?”

Ryouga started to say he didn’t think it was such a good notion, when
Ai interrupted by jumping up and giving a cheer. “That’s a great idea!”
She got closer to Ukyou and began whispering so the others could not overhear.
“There’s this little place I know in Roppongi that we can head to afterwards.
They cater to gals like us. You should see some of the specialized equipment
they have.”

“I AM NOT LIKE YOU!!!” Ukyou raged. Any further statements were cut off
by a huge man in tiger skins that approached the group.

Lime looked at Ai and Kyoko, while practically drooling. “You two look
like,” he paused. “Girls.”

“Hey! What about me?” Ukyou exclaimed. How could the oaf have missed
her?

Lime stared at her. “You look like a boy.”

“My Ukyou is one hundred percent woman!” Ai cried out. “Let me show you.”
Ai moved behind Ukyou and ripped her uniform top open, showing off the
chest wrap to the world.

Ukyou pulled out of Ai’s grasp and covered up. “Why does everyone feel
the need to show my chest off to the world?!”

“Because your breasts are so perfect, my love,” the cheerleader said
innocently. Ukyou blushed at the compliment. Too bad it had come from
Ai.

Lime stood there transfixed. “Were those…. were those breasts?”

In his eagerness to investigate he approached the group once again. Kyoko
cowered behind Ryouga, while Ai moved protectively in front of Ukyou.

“Watch it, pal,” Ryouga warned.

“Keep away from my Ukyou,” Ai’s attitude mirrored Ryouga’s.

Lime’s hand shot forward and snared Ai. She began kicking and screaming
in protest, trying to get out of his grasp. One of her blows connected
right with the bridge of his nose. The pain caused him to give Ai a tight
squeeze, the pressure proving too much as she went limp in his arms.

“AI!” All three of the remaining people shouted as one. Ukyou and Ryouga
moved forward.

“I may not be able to stand Ai, but no one deserves to be manhandled
like that,” Ukyou said.

“I’m with you,” Ryouga agreed.

The duo jumped forward to the attack, both connecting with Lime’s stomach.
He released Ai and looked angrily at the duo.

“I felt that.”

The shock on the attackers’ faces was evident. No one, not even Chabane,
had been able to take that kind of punishment without a bigger reaction
than that. Lime moved in while the duo was in momentary shock. Before
either could move he grabbed them by their heads and brought their skulls
together with a loud thump, then released them. Ryouga was slightly groggy
but Ukyou was knocked unconscious by the blow from Ryouga’s skull.

“UK-CHAN!!!” Ryouga screamed as he went down to one knee to examine Ukyou.

Lime was surprised to see Ryouga still awake. There were few that could
withstand a blow like that. While the lost one was distracted, Lime drew
back his fist and coldcocked him. Ryouga hit the ground, unconscious.

Kyoko finally went into motion as she jumped protectively in front of
the prone Ryouga. “I won’t let you hurt him.”

“You’re pretty. Let’s go out on a date.” Lime reached out towards Kyoko.
He was slightly surprised she did not even try to run away, allowing him
to pick her up.

Kyoko had not protested because her plan was working. If she could distract
the big man, he would not hurt Ryouga. Her beloved was all that mattered.
Now she needed to come up with something to get him away from her true
love. “Why don’t we go somewhere quiet?” Kyoko thought that was the sort
of thing Ai would say.

Lime grunted in approval. He picked up Ai and walked off, leaving the
other two figures sprawled out in the middle of the street. Kyoko blew
a kiss towards Ryouga’s prone form as she was carried off. “Be safe, my
heart.”

Cologne once again was forced to wonder if she was in the presence of
pure genius. It was said Einstein, one of the greatest geniuses of the
era, had trouble tying his shoelaces. All throughout history, the brilliant
were often depicted as eccentric or a little mad. Perhaps that was the
price of genius. The girl before her was certainly bizarre, if not outright
delusional.

Kodachi was in a lab jacket studying the various reactions of the chemicals
she was experimenting with. The girl’s demeanor was nothing like it usually
was. Not a trace of humor was in her as she experimented with the new,
rare herbs Cologne had shipped in from China. Watching the girl work her
magic with the toxins was amazing. Kodachi still had to field-test the
reactions, but she had said she was certain she already had synthesized
a very effective poison with the new ingredients. It all happened in a
matter of hours. Her intuitive grasp of the field was astounding. Now
all that was left was the creation of the antidote. A toxin without an
antidote was a good way to get killed if there was a lab accident.

Cologne’s attention was suddenly riveted to someone’s approach from nearby.
Someone familiar. Someone that should not even be in Japan. “Kodachi,
come with me. I want you to meet an extraordinarily dangerous man.”

Kodachi looked towards her chemist’s set. None of the experiments were
at a critical juncture. She could spare some time to meet someone that
Cologne considered “an extraordinarily dangerous man.” She followed the
Amazon to the floral shop’s entrance and heard someone come in. Two figures
entered the jungle and began to search. Their eyes settled on the approaching
women.

“Cologne,” Herb stated. “So, my information was correct.”

“Prince Herb. It has been a long time,” Cologne replied, making sure
to use his title. No sense in provoking a senseless argument. “Take off
your cloak and make yourself at home.”

Herb held up a hand. “No, thanks. I do not intend to remain long.”

Mint moved towards Kodachi, gazing upon her in awe. “Are you a girl?”
He moved his hand forward to touch her.

“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” the gymnast calmly stated.

Mint was confused. “Why not?”

The Ranma-Eating Plant sensed its mistress’s desire, and raised its head
forward and over Kodachi’s shoulder. It opened its jaws wide to show off
its jagged teeth and gave a low, menacing hiss. Mint came to the sudden
conclusion that he was not that curious about women after all, and backed
off.

“Do you believe I would allow a barbarian such as yourself to lay your
hands upon me?” Kodachi said haughtily. “Only my darling Mousse has that
privilege.”

Cologne and Herb moved back to discuss the matters at hand, now that
the commotion was over.

Cologne could only sense Herb’s smile hidden beneath the shadows of the
cloak. “Because you are a well-informed person. I will add that I am more
than willing to pay for the knowledge.”

Cologne maintained a neutral attitude. “What could you possibly possess
that I would be interested in?”

Herb silently pulled out an ornate box from within the cloak and opened
it. Inside there were three items. A medallion with a griffon’s head on
it, a crystal, and a single bracer.

“These are relics of the Amazons! I recognize them all!” Cologne said
in shock as she moved to handle the items. “This is the medallion of Hu
Chiang. This is a scrying crystal. And the last is the Bracer of Tangal.”
Cologne silently berated herself for fawning over the objects. Any advantage
she could have displayed over lack of interest in the items was lost.
“How did you come to find them?”

“I have my resources. Now about that deal…” Herb trailed off.

Cologne could hardly refuse. Kiifuiton was only useful to those that
possessed Chiisuiton, and she would have been damned if she was going
to let Herb leave with the valuable artifacts. She pulled out a map and
handed it to Herb. “Here is the general location of what you seek. That
is the best I can do.”

Herb took the piece of parchment in trembling hands. “It will more than
suffice. The artifacts are yours.” Herb paid no further attention to the
matriarch as the prince committed to memory everything about the map.

Lime finally arrived with the two cheerleaders still draped over his
shoulders. He quickly ran over to Herb. “Look what I found in the middle
of the street.”

To Lime, Herb’s red eyes seemed to bore a hole through him. The words
his leader spoke had an even more sobering effect.

“There is no time for that! We leave now!” Herb turned and walked out
the door. Lime and Mint looked at one another, shrugged, then followed.
Lime made certain to leave the cheerleaders. No point in angering Herb
further.

Mousse moved away from the shadows he had been skulking in. A good thing
he had come in at the last minute, else he would have missed the statement
by Herb about Kiifuiton. If he remembered correctly, it could cure Jusenkyou
curses, though why Cologne had not thought to use it was beyond him. Still,
there was now a chance that he could cure himself of the curse. It was
foolish of him to believe Shampoo would ever agree to marry him while
he was cursed. That was why she refused the cure and marrying him. It
was not because she did not love him, how could she not? It was because
he was less than a man. Of course, so was Saotome, which meant Ranma must
have done something else to her as well to get her to fawn over him so.
It enraged Mousse to think of his darling Shampoo being trapped under
Ranma’s house. There was no telling what the lecherous scum had already
done to her. Not that Mousse would care. He would love her no matter what.

Now that he thought about it, and he hated to admit it, he might need
help. If the rumors about the Musk Dynasty were true, Mousse might have
been able to take out any one of them, but there was no chance he could
take all three alone. A plan started to form in his mind. A devious one,
which might get him everything he needed: a cure, and some bonuses.

Ranma-chan and Akane returned home after school. The two of them were
starting to talk to one another civilly for the first time since the events
of the previous night. They greeted Kasumi and separated. Ranma changed
sexes and went to change clothes while Akane went out back. The scene
in the backyard shocked her.

“What happened?” It took her a moment to realize the backyard was filled
with the broken remains of what were once her practice dummies. All of
them. Nothing was left but small piles of splinters. Not even Akane could
have destroyed them so thoroughly. There were also some odd pieces of
cloth stuck amongst the remains.

Kasumi looked over the carnage and explained. “Shampoo felt better and
decided to work out.”

Akane’s thoughts were interrupted by a shout from within the house.

“WHERE ARE ALL MY CLOTHES?!!!” Ranma roared.

“Shampoo dressed up the dummies with Ranma’s clothes,” Kasumi explained.
“She thought they needed a touch of realism.”

Ranma came to the backyard in a shirt and shorts that had been saved
only because they were still dirty and had been in the laundry. One look
told him where his clothes were as well.

“What did you do that has gotten Shampoo so angry at you?” Akane asked.

“How should I know? I never did nothing to her,” Ranma could not remember
the Amazon ever really being angry with him. Not like this. He walked
back to his room, lost in thought. He went to lie down while trying to
figure out what Shampoo could have possibly misinterpreted that got her
so upset. Once he could remember what it was, he could explain it to her.
Shampoo would listen to explanations, unlike a certain fiancée he could
mention. As he went to lie down he noticed the blanket he normally used
was in shreds.

“Hey Kasumi! What happened to my sheets?”

“Shampoo was kind enough to wash them,” Kasumi explained as she entered
the room. “Although she said a neighbor’s dog got to yours while they
were hung out to dry. They really ought to keep a tighter leash on their
pets. What if it had attacked another person?”

Ranma had a feeling it was a wild Amazon, not a wild animal, that had
attacked his sheets and ripped them to shreds. He went to lie down and
try thinking again. His head made contact with the pillow he normally
used and was rewarded with an incredibly loud thump as he hit.

Ranma grabbed the back of his head. “OW! What the hell…” He picked up
the pillowcase and held it upside down. Several rocks, the ones that replaced
the pillow inside the case, fell out. Ranma’s concern doubled. Shampoo
was REALLY angry with him if she was doing stuff like this. Just as he
was about to put his mind to really get to the bottom of things a bat
flew into his room and landed. It began making urgent bat-like noises
and gestures in his direction.

“I see. I see. I understand,” Ranma said as he thoughtfully put his hand
to his chin. “Ryouga, do you realize what I understand?”

The bat shook its head.

“It’s that I can’t understand a word you’re saying, BECAUSE YOU’RE A
BAT, YOU IDIOT! CHANGE INTO A GUY!!!” He picked up the bat and walked
to the bath, ran some hot water, then left to retrieve some of the clothes
the lost one left at the dojo when he needed to fly over. Ryouga dressed
once Ranma returned. As both left the bathroom, Akane spotted them and
joined up.

“What’s got you so riled up?” Ranma asked.

“Some big guy in tiger skins attacked me and Ukyou.”

Ranma’s demeanor became much more serious. “Is she all right?”

“She has a headache, but it isn’t bad. That doesn’t mean the big guy
isn’t going to pay! Not by a long shot.” Ryouga clenched his fist for
emphasis.

“You aren’t doing it alone.” Ranma put his hand on Ryouga’s shoulder.

“I didn’t come here for help, Ranma. I just want you to watch out for
Ukyou while I take care of business.”

“She’s my friend, too. I’m going.” The look in his eyes left no room
for argument.

“I’m glad to hear you say that, Saotome.”

Everyone turned to see the new voice. Kasumi stood next to Mousse, whom
she had just let inside.

“You got some nerve coming here, after what you pulled!” Ranma
ran over and grabbed Mousse by the collar. “Let me show you just how unwelcome
you are.”

Mousse just smirked back in response. “We now have the same goal, Saotome.
I found a cure for all of us.”

Ranma refused to release his grip. “I don’t know what kind of a sucker
you take me for, but if you imagine I’m going to believe a word you’re
saying, think again.”

Just as Ranma drew back to strike Mousse, Akane rested her hand on the
fist. “Wait, Ranma! Let’s hear him out.” Ranma dropped the fist to his
side but continued holding Mousse.

“Your fiancée has a lot more brains than you, Saotome,” Mousse said.
“You two make a cute couple. You should marry her as soon as possible.”

“I ain’t got time for this. You’d better come up with something real
interesting in about three seconds, or you’re going to have lot more things
wrong with you besides your vision,” Ranma threatened.

Mousse chose not to waste any more time. “There’s a magic object that
has just come to my attention. It has the capability to break the Jusenkyou
curses.”

“And you’re just letting me and Ryouga in on it because you’re a nice
guy. Is that it?” Ranma did not buy it for a second.

“No. If I could obtain it alone, I would, but we won’t be the only ones
after it. You see, there are three other men after it.” Mousse allowed
the words to sink in. “They are the Musk Dynasty. All three of them are
accomplished fighters. You already met one of them, from the sound of
it, Ryouga.”

That caught Ryouga’s attention. “You mean the guy with the tiger skins?”

Mousse at last batted Ranma’s hand from his collar. “His name is Lime.
His forte is power. He might even be stronger than you.”

Ryouga nodded his head reluctantly. If the force behind the blow was
any indication of the man’s strength, Lime was more powerful than him.
If there were two others like him traveling all together, letting Ranma
come along suddenly seemed like a good idea.

“What about the others?” Ranma asked.

“I can fill you in about them on the way. We have to leave now,” Mousse
warned. “If they get their hands on Kiifuiton before we do, it might be
impossible to take it from them.”

“Let’s go.” Akane said as she stood up. All three men looked at her.

“Umm, Akane. Where do you think you’re going?” Ranma asked.

“To help you.”

Ranma shook his head. “Maybe you weren’t paying attention. These guys
are dangerous.”

“Hey! I’m a martial artist, too. I can take care of myself.” Akane felt
her anger begin to rise.

Ryouga came to Ranma’s aid. “He’s right, Akane. The one I fought was
real tough. I wouldn’t let Ukyou come even if she was feeling up to it.”

“Nor would I let Shampoo go with us,” Mousse agreed. “By the way, where
is she?”

“She’s obviously not here if you’re still standing,” Ranma said dryly.
“Now where do we go?”

Mousse suddenly looked embarrassed and gave a nervous chuckle. “I don’t
know. I stopped following them when I came here to get you.”

“You mean to tell me, you don’t even know where the thing is?” Ranma
spat out.

“Guys,” Ryouga tried to interrupt.

“It’s not like I had a choice. I couldn’t take them on alone, and I was
fresh out of homing pigeons. Otherwise I would have sent you a note,”
Mousse responded.

“Guys,” Ryouga tried again.

“Now we can’t get the cure! What was the point in coming here if you
can’t find out where they went?!” Ranma and Mousse tensed up, ready to
fight.

Ryouga had enough. He went to the bathroom, returned with a bucket of
cold water, and splashed the two youths.

“Hey! Whad’ya do that for?!” Ranma-chan asked angrily.

*I want to know too!* Mousse-panda looked just as pleased.

“As I was trying to say, I can find them. My homing sense, remember?”
Ryouga pointed to his head. “When I’m a bat, I can find anyone, anywhere.
I even found Ranma from halfway across the world.”

Ranma-chan nodded her head. Ryouga’s sense was so good in bat form he
managed to track Ranma down while she was a female, even if he had not
realized the curse at the time. If Ryouga met Lime even once, he could
track him down with ease.

“Well, that’s settled.” Ranma got some hot water for himself and Mousse
while grabbing some cold for Ryouga.

“I’m going, too.” Akane tried to force her way into the group again.

Ranma tried a different approach. “Look, anything that involves curses
is a bad thing for uncursed people to be around. I don’t want you turning
into an otter or something.”

“It’s supposed to cure you. I want to go!” Akane remained adamant.

“Fine! We’ll take a vote. Who wants the uncute tomboy to stay here?”
Two guys and one bat raised their hands and wing respectively.

“I abstain,” Kasumi said from the doorway.

“We have three for Akane to stay. One abstention. And only one vote left.”
Ranma turned to Akane. “Make sure you don’t cook anything that can kill
while we’re gone.”

“You rotten jerk! I don’t care what happens to you!” She was damned of
she was going to accept that kind of treatment, and stomped out of the
house.

“You should treat your fiancée better, Saotome,” Mousse said.

“I ain’t marring her, so don’t worry about it. Let’s get going, unless
you like being a panda?” Ranma picked up Ryouga’s clothes as he and Mousse
followed Ryouga’s flight path.

Shampoo had wandered around aimlessly all day. Most of her initial anger
was gone, and she was beginning to think more rationally. Ranma had chosen
Akane after all. That was still quiet a shock. She thought they hated
one another. Who would have thought it? But why did Ranma have to be so
cruel in turning her down? Why couldn't he have simply said no? Did he
think she would hit him? She was not Akane. Shampoo would have understood.
She was a proud Amazon warrior. She could take rejection with a smile
on her lips. Actually, she admitted to herself, she would have most likely
broken down in tears on the spot, but she would not have abused him the
way Akane did. Never like that.

What was she doing in Japan anyway? Her great grandmother knew she was
here. It was only a matter of time before she would resort to bringing
in a huge number of Amazons that would defeat Shampoo by sheer numbers.
The longer she remained, the greater the risk. She had to leave. There
was a whole big world out there and there was sure to be a cure somewhere
in it. She had to start looking for it to gain back her life. To go back
home.

Shampoo was startled to realize that held little appeal for her. Why,
she did not know. What had changed so that returning to her birthplace
held little appeal for her? Perhaps it was simply that she had thought
of it as dangerous for so long she was a little afraid of going back.
That reasoning seemed sound, but something about it did not feel right.

There was nothing else to be gained in walking around in big circles.
She had to go back home. No. She meant the dojo. When had she started
to think of it as home? It did not really matter. She would sleep on her
decision, but if she still felt the same way tomorrow, then it would be
her final day there. It was not like she had a lot of things to pack up.

She returned home (she reminded herself she meant dojo), surprised to
see only Kasumi present.

“Where is everyone?” Shampoo asked.

“Well, Akane left to get new materials to make some practice dummies,”
Kasumi explained.

Shampoo calmed herself enough to stop shaking the eldest Tendo. “Kasumi,”
she began slowly. “Tell me what you mean when you say they go to fight
Musk.”

Kasumi related everything she could remember about the conversation.
She became very concerned when she saw how frightened Shampoo appeared.
“What is it?” she asked.

“I have to go find them. They in great danger.” Shampoo headed to her
room, and cursed herself. She had no way of knowing where they were.

And they had no idea of what they were getting into.

Shampoo knew. She had met the members of the Musk Dynasty once before.
Her great grandmother had taken her on a diplomatic voyage to meet Prince
Herb at his castle in the lands the Musk claimed as their own. Cologne
had become concerned that relations between the Amazons and the Musk had
recently deteriorated for no rational explanation. Her great grandmother
decided it was time for Shampoo to learn the finer points of diplomacy
at the age of fourteen. The journey would be a tremendous learning tool
to that end.

It had proved to be a mistake.

Cologne had only taken four bodyguards, in addition to Shampoo. There
had not been any real trouble with the Musk in over three hundred years.
It appeared that they had finally laid the hard feelings of the past to
rest, not that it had not been the Musk’s own fault for trying to raise
a demonic evil to take over the world.

As they approached the fortress, Shampoo was in awe. The stone castle
stood on the top of a mountain. Sheer rock dominated three sides of it,
with only one long and winding road that led to the top. The perfect defensible
position. In all their history, only Hu Chiang had ever managed to breach
those walls. It was the principle reason the Musk had borne such a grudge
against the Amazons for so long.

They were forced to wait several hours before being granted an audience.
Shampoo used that time to quietly slip away from the others and go on
an unguided tour of the fortress. She went through it high and low. The
sentries were woefully inadequate in observation skills, and never detected
her presence. The place was exceptionally vast, if a little dreary. The
most memorable part of her search, though, was not the fortress itself,
but rather the view. When she looked over the wall and down into forever,
she fell in love with the mountain. She silently vowed she would climb
those cliffs someday.

Her tour came to an end. Cologne discovered her absence and tracked her
down. Shampoo was given the undignified method of travel by being dragged
by her ear and scolded the entire way with Cologne asking her if she wanted
to start an incident. Her great grandmother was such a spoilsport. They
returned just in time to be ushered into the main throne room.

Upon entering it, Shampoo could feel the change in the air. It took her
but a moment to pinpoint the source. It was the young man sitting upon
the throne. Herb. He was a somewhat slender individual, with bluish-white
hair and piercing red eyes. As the conversation between he and Cologne
progressed, the manners he displayed to the matriarch left much to be
desired. He treated her in a haughty, arrogant manner. Shampoo actually
paid little attention to the conversation and kept far to the back of
the party. It was stupid of her great-grandmother to drag her along; such
things held little interest to her. She spent time looking at the guards
and their armor design, trying to figure out which ones might be able
to put up a fight and which ones were for show.

That was when the large youth dressed in tiger skins entered the room,
bearing a massive stone bench that had to weigh at least a ton. He did
it effortlessly with one hand. The bench fell to the floor with a loud
crash as his eyes settled on Shampoo. Specifically, her chest. The stare
made her a little self-conscious. She had hit puberty not all that long
ago, and was starting to become aware of the stares she received from
males. Not that she was ashamed of her body. Quiet to the contrary, she
was happy she was filling out so nicely, but she was still not used to
the attention. The youth in tiger skins was quickly joined by a young
man in a wolf pelt. Shampoo never even saw the boy arrive. He was simply
not there one moment, then present the next.

Shampoo began to worry. The duo’s stares seemed strange. If she did not
know any better, she would have sworn they had never seen a girl before.
They started to move forward when Herb noticed them.

“<Would you two quit fooling around, and get over here?!>” Herb’s
voice carried a tone of annoyance. “<We are conducting important business!>”

The duo went over to Herb’s side, much to Shampoo’s relief, though they
now stared at all the women in the room. She attempted to follow the conversation
between her great grandmother and Herb, but she was not able to really
comprehend what was going on. All she could tell was that tone had become
even coarser between the two. She did not become concerned until she felt
the bodyguards tense up. It was a subtle gesture, but Shampoo’s training
made her more than aware of the change in their demeanor. She tensed up
as well, expecting the worst.

It never came to pass, as the conversation abruptly ended. Cologne indicated
the group should leave when Herb halted them.

“<Before you go,>” Herb said. “<Why don’t we have a little floor
show for you? I understand you like a good fight. Mint! Lime!>”

The two moved forward, looking curiously at one another. Herb turned
to the soldiers.

“<Men. Try to kill…>” Herb trailed off as he looked to the party
of Amazons. A smile creased his face as he saw the warriors, including
Shampoo, tense up once again. “<…Lime and Mint,>” he finished.

The men looked unsure at one another, then formed up and attacked. It
was a futile gesture. Lime picked up the first attacker and threw him,
like a bowling ball, into the group of soldiers. He took out half of them
with that one blow. Mint did not idly stand by. He rushed forward and
began taking out men with barehanded attacks. The remaining soldiers did
not last ten seconds.

Shampoo knew enough to understand what they had just witnessed was a
show of force, and an impressive one at that. Herb casually dismissed
the Amazons with a wave of his hand.

Once out of sight and earshot Cologne gave her order. “<We leave here.
Immediately!>”

One of the escorts, Sink, spoke up. “<The arrogance of that mere male!
How dare he address you in such a manner! Why did you not put him in his
place?>”

“<Be silent!>” Silk, one of the older members of the matriarch’s
bodyguard and one of the best warriors in the village, spoke up. “<First,
you never speak that way to any elder. I taught you better than that.
Second, you do not make war on a battleground of the enemy’s choosing.
Third, if any action is to be taken, one of your betters will decide.>”

Sink withered under Silk’s glare. Their discussion would continue at
a later time. Silk turned to Cologne and spoke in a more proper tone.
“<Has he gone mad? Why would he provoke us like that?>”

“<I do not believe it was madness. It felt more like confidence. Whether
or not it is justified remains to be seen,>” Cologne answered, then
turned to Shampoo. “<It was a mistake to bring you here, child. If
I had known it would be this dangerous, I would have left you home.>”

“<I can handle myself!>” Shampoo huffed.

Cologne looked at her sadly. “<Do not allow pride to become arrogance.
It will prove your undoing.>”

As the party made their way to the main courtyard they all felt a massive
buildup of chi. All turned to see Herb unleash a tremendous chi blast
high into the sky, striking a single bird. The blast disintegrated it
totally. It was the moral equivalent if using a .357 Magnum to kill a
fly.

Herb smiled at the group. “<I hate crows. They’re a bad omen. Have
a safe journey.>” He gave the party a condescending smile. Cologne
returned it with a seemingly sincere one and departed with the envoy.

As they headed down the mountain Silk and Cologne began talking with
one another.

“<He has changed much since the last time we met him. He was always
good with chi, but his abilities now…>” Silk trailed off, then continued.
“<It’s not only that aura of power he has now.>”

“<Ah! So you noticed it too.>” Cologne said that as a statement,
not a question.

“<Noticed what great-grandmother?>” Shampoo asked.

“<His eyes, child. They used to be blue.>”

After that incident, all contact with the Musk was cut off. Rumors circulated
about their actions. None of the rumors were good. And now it was just
over two years since she had seen the members of the Musk Dynasty. There
could be little doubt that their abilities had grown since Shampoo had
last seen them. Ranma and the others could have no idea of what they were
getting into. Not even Mousse really knew. Cologne had been very specific
that Shampoo kept what happened to herself, not that she ever told Mousse
much of anything.

So now the problem was how to locate Ranma. She had no idea of where
they went, and with the head start they had, she could not catch up to
them without knowing where they were going. The only way she could think
of following them was magic. She knew a spell that her great grandmother
had taught her, but it was too time-consuming. Maybe Minami had an idea.

It took Shampoo too much time to find Minami’s house. Akane had visited
her several occasions, but all the Amazon remembered was the street she
said the ghost sweeper lived on. Shampoo came upon the house and saw Minami
and a man, most likely her father, hurriedly rush to a waiting car.

“Minami, wait!” Shampoo cried out as she ran to the car.

Minami exited the vehicle. “What is it? Make it quick. I have a plane
to Bolivia to catch.”

“I need to find Ranma,” she blurted out.

Minami smiled. “What? The guy run away? Good for him. Now maybe things
will get normal around here.”

Shampoo shook her head. “No. He in great danger. He go to attack a very
powerful man.”

Minami gave an exasperated sigh and got out of the car. “Hold on, Dad.
This will only take a minute.” Minami turned back to Shampoo. “This is
some of that martial arts crap, isn’t it?”

Shampoo nodded. “Sort of. Ranma thinks he trying to find a cure, and
another man try to stop him. Herb is very powerful.”

“Fine.” Minami reached into a pocket and pulled out an object that looked
like a compass. “This will help you find him. Whatever you do, don’t lose
it. Now, do you have any of his personal items? A shirt? A lucky charm?
A lock of hair?”

The Amazon looked sheepishly at Minami and pulled out a lock of hair.

Minami stared in disbelief. “You actually keep a lock of his hair? Boy,
do you have it bad.”

Shampoo blushed. “That not why I have it.”

“Then why would you?” Minami asked. “The only other reason to have it
would be for magic spells. Like this one, or a voodoo doll, or a love
potion.”

Shampoo's blush became even redder. That was the reason she had originally
taken it. There was a time when she seriously considered using such a
potion, but the Perfume incident taught her she would not influence Ranma’s
mind by using anything other than her own powers of persuasion. It was
still a horribly tempting idea, though. The only reason she kept it with
her any more was because it reminded her of Ranma. Now she was grateful
she did.

Minami placed the lock of hair on the compass. “Now close your eyes and
hold out your hand.” Shampoo did as she was instructed while Minami continued.
“Now, picture Ranma in your mind”

Suddenly, Shampoo felt a sharp cut across her palm. She reflexively pulled
back her good hand to strike Minami.

“Whoa! Ease up there, ‘Poo!” Minami shouted with the bloody knife still
in hand. “I need your blood to fuel the spell. Now hold out the cut hand.”

Shampoo was a bit put off. All Minami needed to do was say she needed
blood and Shampoo would have given it. Nonetheless, she did as she was
told. Minami allowed the blood to soak into the compass. Once she felt
there was enough she released Shampoo’s hand and told her to clasp the
compass in the good one. Each girl held onto the object with one hand.

“Picture Ranma in your mind again. Get the image burned in there real
good,” Minami urged.

Shampoo obeyed. Picturing Ranma in her mind was easy. She had lots of
practice.

Shampoo suddenly felt the compass pull in a direction. There was also
something else. The compass felt wrong.

Minami smiled. “It seems to be working. Now let me warn you, you have
to focus on Ranma whenever you hold it in your hand or it won’t work.
If you picture the wrong person, or lose the trail somehow, you won’t
be able to get it back.”

“It feels funny,” Shampoo commented.

Minami smiled. “That’s because you are basically a good person that’s
been magically enchanted. You’re reacting negatively to the small part
of demon trapped inside the compass.”

Shampoo was shocked. “I know a little about magic, Minami. Using blood
magic with demons is dangerous. And only practitioners of black magic
use it.”

“Don’t worry,” Minami’s voice sounded bitter. “I’ve had lots of practice
using that kind of stuff. I learned from the one of the best damn Dark
Sorceresses that ever was. My mother.”

Shampoo thought she saw tears form in Minami’s eyes as she turned to
leave. Minami did not look back as she continued. “I’ve got to go. Ukyou
will kill me if I miss the convention.”

Shampoo afforded Minami a short nod as she turned to go herself. Ranma
was all that mattered now. She had to get to him before he ran into the
Musk. She focused his image in her mind and felt the demonic locator pull
in a direction.

Ranma and Mousse followed Ryouga-bat as fast as they could. They had
not traveled more than four hours when Ryouga-bat paused, desiring hot
water.

Ranma looked annoyed as the lost one underwent his transformation. “Why’d
you stop?”

Ranma’s tone managed to irritate Ryouga. “One reason is that I wanted
to tell you they seemed to have increased speed. I think it’s got to be
either a car or train. The movement is pretty even. The other is that
you guys are moving too slow. You’ve got to figure out a way of going
faster.”

“Well excuse me, Bloodsucker. Some of us can’t fly,” Ranma said.

Ryouga balled up his fist and was going to return the insult when Mousse
decided to play peacekeeper. “Look, you guys. If I can swallow my pride
and work with Ranma then the two of you can work together.” Mousse saw
his words had the desired effect. “I have a solution to the speed problem.
I can run much faster in panda form. Of course, that means allowing Saotome
to ride me,” he grumbled.

“Hey! It ain’t like I want to ride a flea bag like you,” Ranma retorted.

This time Ryouga got between them. “Cool it, you guys. It sounds like
a good plan. We’ll use it.” Cold water was doused in Ryouga and Mousse
as the trio set out again. Ranma could not quite put his finger on it,
but something felt wrong.

Hours later, Shampoo felt the distance between her and her quarry increase.
He was moving faster than her. She was going to have to run through the
night if she hoped to catch up to Ranma. She began to pace herself better.
At least he seemed to be heading north on a consistent basis.

Two days later:

Herb walked back and forth with Chiisuiton extended. Herb had been reassured
that it would be tugged in a direction once it was near its mate, Kiifuiton.
They had searched the mountain for a full day, and turned up nothing.
On this second day, the prince was confident that it would be found. The
members of the Musk Dynasty were running out of places to search. At last
Herb was rewarded by a gentle pull on the ladle. Herb’s future was secured.

“Lime! Mint! It’s this way,” Herb noticed the duo looking up in the sky.
“What is it?”

Mint pointed upward. “It’s a bat. You don’t see them during daylight
too often.”

“DO YOU TWO HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WE ARE DOING UP ON THIS MOUNTAIN?!!” Herb
roared.

Lime scratched his head. “Not really. We’re just following you around.
Don’t you know what we’re doing here?”

Herb facefaulted.

Mousse poured hot water on Ryouga and himself. All three pursuers looked
down from their vantage point, as Herb led the two companions to a stream.

“All right. We finally caught up to them. I say we make a plan to confront
them,” Ranma began.

“Mint’s the fast one, so I’ll take him. Ryouga, you’ll want to take care
of Lime, I’m sure. Saotome, you take Herb. He’s supposed to be the most
dangerous of the lot,” Mousse commanded.

“And exactly why do I have to take the most dangerous one?” he asked.

“As you remind us so often, you are the best martial artist there is.
It only makes sense that you confront the best one. Unless you want to
admit I’m better,” Mousse smiled at Ranma. He knew what the response would
be.

“I’ll take him,” Ranma stated plainly. “Now how about a plan?”

“Let’s attack!” Ryouga growled.

“Good idea.” Mousse seconded, and without waiting for Ranma, the two
rushed forward.

Ranma just held his head. What kind of plan was that? Those two were
probably going to get him killed. Having nothing better to do, he leaped
down to his opponent.

Mousse smiled to himself. Ranma had fallen for the trap. Ideally, Mousse
hoped Herb would kill Ranma outright, and then he could be the hero and
dispatch Herb in “revenge.” With Ryouga there as a witness, no one could
call him a liar. Shampoo would probably thank him for avenging Saotome’s
death. The briefest of fantasies passed through his mind as he saw himself
consoling her in her grief. If Ranma won his fight, he would undoubtedly
be softened up, so Mousse could then kill him with ease. Of course, the
problem with that scenario was Ryouga. Mousse knew the human bat hated
Ranma, but outright murder did not seem his style. And even if it was,
Ryouga probably knew Ukyou would alienate him for allowing Ranma to die.
That meant Mousse would have to kill him too. He bore the boy no personal
grudge, and was reluctant to kill him. Maybe Lime would take care of the
problem.

Ryouga got the drop on Lime and started assailing him with a variety
of punches and kicks. The early advantage was lost as Lime quickly recovered
and retaliated, trying to hit Ryouga again. This time Ryouga was prepared,
and dodged many of the attacks with his somewhat superior speed.

Mousse threw a variety of knives at Mint, confident he could take him
out early and watch the Ranma vs. Herb duel. The wolf-pelt covered boy
easily dodged the original volley and landed a punch in Mousse’s midsection.
The Amazon quickly recovered, realizing Mint’s speed was even greater
than rumors made it sound. It appeared Mousse was in the fight of his
life.

Ranma faced his opponent but did not attack. Herb did likewise, observing
the newcomer and tried to take his measure.

“What are you doing here?” Herb inquired.

“We need that Kiifushtand, or whatever it’s called,” Ranma explained.
“Just let us use it and we’ll be on our way.”

Herb scoffed at that. “How asinine! Do you honestly believe I would give
in to the threats of a lowborn such as yourself? I am the next emperor
of China!”

“Oh, great!” Ranma thought. “Delusions of grandeur even greater than
Mousse’s delusions of adequacy.” He continued aloud. “We’ll give it back.
Honest. But I really need it, and I won’t take no for an answer.” He cracked
his knuckles for emphasis.

Ranma could have sworn he saw Herb’s red eyes flare. “Very well! So be
it!” Herb dropped into a fighting stance. Ranma answered with one of his
own. The two began their duel.

The fighting was only slightly restrained at first, with both combatants
feeling each other out. The feeling out period quickly escalated into
a full-out fight, both opponents giving everything they had. As the battle
progressed Ranma quickly came to a conclusion; Herb was a skilled fighter,
but Ranma was unquestionably better. It appeared Herb had been overrated.

Herb looked on with concern. The boy was proving himself a worthy adversary.
Herb decided it was time to stop playing around, and go all-out.

Ranma threw a quick one-two combination with his fists. Herb blocked
both attacks with the edge of his hands. As Ranma drew back he felt a
burning sensation where he had made contact with Herb, almost as though
someone had held a match for a few moments on those spots. Ranma attempted
another fist strike to Herb’s chest. Herb grunted as the prince’s hand
blocked Ranma’s punch by catching the fist in the palm. Ranma felt the
burning sensation ride up his arm. That pain was overridden as Herb connected
with a fist of his own to Ranma’s jaw. The burning sensation was repeated
there as well. Ranma drew back and looked at Herb more closely. Now that
he had a moment, he noticed Herb’s hands had a blue glow to them. He was
using some kind of chi attack. That made him more dangerous than Ranma
had originally anticipated.

Herb smiled underneath the cowl. “Do you feel a little hot, my friend?”
Herb came at Ranma with a punch. Ranma countered by grabbing the elbow
of the arm that came at him, preventing the blow from striking and containing
the arm. Herb’s second attempt ended up likewise. With Herb’s arms trapped,
Ranma unloaded a kick into Herb’s solar plexus. He released Herb’s arms
and went for the knockout blow. The Amaguriken connected enough times
that Ranma felt the armor Herb wore buckle, but the prince leaped back
out of the attack’s range before more than a handful of blows landed on
bare flesh.

Ranma observed the damage he had inflicted on Herb. That was when he
caught sight of what was contained under the armor. “Emperor, my ass!
You’re an empress!”

Herb-chan looked down to see the shattered center of her armor. Her breasts
now clearly showing through the rent in her chestplate. “You fool! How
dare you do that to me! You will pay for this travesty!” Herb-chan threw
off her cloak and cowl to show of her true features. Long white-blue hair
and pointed elf-like ears adorned the slender girl’s face. She literally
growled as she revealed small, pointed fangs, similar to Ryouga’s.

Ranma waited to see Herb-chan tense up before the attempted attack. He
was caught off guard, as the girl simply flew at blinding speed and connected
with a kick to Ranma’s jaw that nearly took his head off. As Ranma regained
his feet he felt something loose in his mouth and reached back into it,
coming out with a tooth. He flicked it away while giving Herb-chan an
evil glare.

Herb-chan floated in the air and smirked. “It gets worse.” She flew at
Ranma once again. This time Ranma blocked the kick, but as the girl flew
on by he was suddenly hit by twin bolts chi energy that trailed in Herb-chan’s
wake. She landed upon the ground and laughed. “Not so tough now, eh?”

Ranma just stared and wiped the blood off his lip. If it was a fight
Herb-chan wanted, it was a fight Herb-chan was going to get. “Empress,”
he began. “This is just the beginning.”

Mousse was becoming frustrated at his inability to hit the fast-moving
youth. At last, Mousse got a break. Mint jumped up and prepared to hit
Mousse with a kick. The near blind warrior spread out a variety of caltrops
where he had been a second ago as he got out of the area where Mint would
be landing. Mint’s foot landed squarely on one of the caltrops. Just as
he jumped up in pain and brought up his foot to pull out the implement,
his other foot landed on second spike. While he was distracted, Mousse
pulled out a long baseball bat and hit Mint with it. The blow sent the
youth into a rock wall as he ended up on his back.

Mousse went in for the kill. He leaped up in the air and threw a volley
of knives at Mint once more. Instead of dodging, as he did the other volleys,
he snatched the knives out of mid-air and rolled out of the way. When
Mousse landed Mint threw the knives, pinning Mousse to the rock wall by
his robes. Mint had kept one knife back and held it menacingly before
him.

“You hurt me. Now you’re going to be hurt.”

Mousse struggled as much as he could against his makeshift bonds, but
he lacked the strength to pull loose. As Mint approached, Mousse did the
only thing he could do. With a flick of his wrist he produced a tiny squirt
gun, shifted his wrist slightly and squirted himself, triggering the transformation.
With his superior strength, Mousse-panda tore free of the knives, placed
some “cat’s claws” on his forearms, and charged at Mint. The fight was
back on.

Ryouga was becoming exhausted. All of his power did not seem to be doing
him any good. Lime was shrugging off his most powerful blows and coming
back for more. The lost one was not used to being the weaker fighter in
a duel, and it was frustrating him no end. There was one way around it.
He allowed his frustration to become depression and felt his chi energy
rising. He backed off from Lime and released the energy as the Shi Shi
Houkoudan. The energy impacted Lime in the chest. The large warrior held
his chest, and for a moment Ryouga thought he would fall over, but Lime
held it together and went on the attack once again.

Lime’s fist shattered stone behind the rock wall Ryouga had been in front
of moments before. Ryouga decided to switch tactics and employed a Tenketsu
to the wall as well, causing Lime to be doused in the shrapnel of the
blast. The damage proved too much as the entire wall, as well as the tons
of rock it supported, collapsed upon the duo.

Ranma and Herb-chan took little note of the noise from behind them. Their
fight was too intense for either competitor to do anything other than
counter his opponent's attacks. Ranma tried keeping Herb-chan close, to
avoid her long-range chi attacks, but that meant having to deal with the
girl’s glowing hands, and Ranma was losing that fight as well. There were
burn chi marks up and down his entire body, mostly around the hands though,
as Herb-chan continuously blocked attacks. Ranma was at a loss of what
to do. So wrapped up was he that he failed to hear some of the recently
fallen rock move as Lime rose from under the tons of rubble.

Lime looked quickly around the shattered rock that lined the battleground
he had so recently been fighting upon. He had been worried about winning
the fight, and wasn’t looking forward to fighting Ryouga again. The lost
one was nowhere to be seen; no doubt buried in a rocky grave. Lime swiveled
around and saw Herb-chan still in combat with Ranma. He ran over to help.

Herb-chan smiled as she glanced over Ranma’s shoulder. With Lime’s assistance
the fight would soon be over. Herb-chan paused in her attack and built
up a ball of chi energy in her hands.

Ranma saw the energy build up and was going to run left when he sensed
the attack behind him. Instincts took over as he jumped over the tremendous
punch Lime was going to connect with. The move, however, left him fully
open to the chi attack Herb-chan was going to employ.

Just as Herb-chan had planned. She gave a shout and released the attack.
“BREATH OF THE DRAGON!!!”

As soon as Ranma was airborne he realized he had fallen for a trap. There
was no way he could avoid the chi attack. In slow motion he saw the flames
of blue chi energy fly towards him, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt
this was it. There was no way he could stop that powerful an attack. However,
as his mind seized up and a scream built up in his throat, it was not
his life he saw flashing before his eyes. It was the ecstatic face of
one purple haired Amazon.

He shut his eyes as the blast connected, feeling pain wash over him,
but in that instant he knew what he had done to anger her, and the only
thing that seemed to matter now was that he would never get to tell her.

Ranma landed in a heap by a pile of rubble, pain so intense he could
hardly believe it ripped through him. As his vision began to dim he spoke
out softly.

“Shampoo… sorry…”

Herb-chan’s smile at Ranma’s unconscious form lasted only a moment as
she and Lime turned to hear the sound of rocks being moved aside as Ryouga
finally dug his way out of his rocky prison. It took only a moment to
survey the damage before he fully took in what had happened.

“You two are finished!” Ryouga charged Herb-chan and Lime.

Herb-chan waved Lime off. “I’ll take care of this one. You help Mint.”
Lime did as he was told, leaving the leader of the Musk one on one with
Ryouga. She waited patiently the coming assault.

Herb-chan seemed to flow out of the way of Ryouga’s punch, bringing her
knee up into his solar plexus. That doubled Ryouga over, and allowed the
princess to bring the point of her elbow squarely into the back of his
skull. He went down on all fours, stunned. She finished up by bringing
the back of her heel precisely between Ryouga’s eyes. The orbs rolled
into the back of his head as he fell unconscious to the ground. Herb-chan
allowed her feet to go back to the same spot they had originally been
She had finished him off in less than three seconds.

Mint was becoming frustrated. Mousse-panda was slower than him, but the
bear’s durability was such that he was having a hard time doing any damage.
That was when he spotted Lime rushing over to help. As Mousse-panda shot
out some multiple chains from his sleeves Lime rushed over and grabbed
onto them. His prodigious strength allowed him to pull Mousse-panda off
the ground and to whip him around with ease, spinning him in a circle.

“Time to play crack the whip, Mint,” Lime said.

Mint understood and jumped up in the air as Lime released the cursed
one in his direction. A kick connected fully with Mousse-panda’s jaw,
knocking him out.

Herb-chan came over and congratulated them. “You two did a great…” she
trailed off as the duo began poking and prodding her chest.

The rest of the question was cut off as Herb-chan sent both of them into
the ground. “Do not do that ever again! Morons!”

Herb-chan continued to survey the carnage, silently wondering who the
youths were. Perhaps they were enemies of her benefactor, that wanted
to stop his plans from coming to fruition, but the boy he fought seemed
to want Kiifuiton.

That realigned Herb-chan’s thinking as she grabbed Chiisuiton once again
and followed the pull to the source of the river. She instructed the recovered
Lime to strike the spot where the kettle was supposed to be. Lime’s blow
shattered the rock along the stream’s source, causing the water to start
spraying the ground elsewhere. Herb-chan looked through the rubble and
found the object she was seeking. Her hands fairly trembled as she finally
had the cure to her malady. She quickly filled the kettle with water and
urged chi energy, the same type she used to burn Ranma before, to flow
into her hands .The water in the kettle quickly heated. Once she was convinced
it was hot enough she poured the water over herself, triggering the transformation.
Once again, Prince Herb of the Musk Dynasty stood before the world.

“You two can poke my chest all you want now, but I’m afraid you’ll be
disappointed.” Herb turned to see the two of them ankle deep in the newly
diverged direction the stream was starting to flow in as they leaned over
Ranma. Curiosity got the better of Herb as he went over to see what their
attention was riveted upon.

“Do you think those are breasts?” Mint was asking his partner.

Lime fondled Ranma-chan’s chest as well. “Could be.”

“I didn’t know they could come and go like that.” Mint started examining
his own chest.

Herb moved his compatriots out of the way and looked down on Ranma-chan’s
unconscious form. His shock lasted but a moment as his face began twitching.

“You… you dare mock me and my curse when you had the same one yourself?!”
Herb began shouting at Ranma-chan’s unconscious form. “What arrogance!
You will pay for this. ‘Empress’ indeed.” Herb grabbed the ladle, Chiisuiton,
and poured some water on Ranma-chan, locking her in her girl form.

Shampoo felt the compass stop pulling her, as a hand suddenly clutched
her heart. She had been visualizing Ranma the entire time, not allowing
herself to be distracted. What could it mean that there was no more pull
by the locator? Could Ranma be…? NO! She refused to think that. He had
to be alive. If he were not, then his death would be her fault. She had
felt Ranma was close by, somewhere to the north where there were some
mountains before the pull had disappeared. She doubled her speed.

Herb smirked at his handiwork. All three would pay for nearly costing
him his chance at regaining his manhood. He had Lime and Mint gather their
opponents, dousing Ryouga with water to change him into a bat first. Once
the other two were locked in their forms, Herb gave further instructions
to his cohorts.

“Pick them up.”

Lime appeared confused. “We aren’t just going to leave them?”

Herb scoffed at that. “And have them seek us out? I think not. They are
coming with us. We need to know why they were attacking us. And I have
special plans for my opponent. Special plans, indeed.” Herb began to laugh
long and hard as the other members of the Musk made off with the cursed
trio.

Shampoo arrived at the mountain hours later and began asking around if
anyone had seen Ranma, or if there had been any other odd occurrences.
She hit pay dirt on the third try.

“I ain’t seen no one that sounded like that,” the man said. “But Ryo
over there saw something peculiar.” He indicated a man sitting at the
bar with two friends.

Shampoo walked over and asked what he had seen.

“Well. It was kind of funny. Me an’ the other guys,” He indicated his
companions. “Heard a loud ruckus from up on the mountain. Now, rockslides
are pretty common, but we wanted to check it out anyway. Well, down comes
these three weird guys carrying a red-haired girl and an unconscious panda.
Turns out she got mauled by the panda, and these guys were from the zoo
and grabbed the animal. They said they were going to take her to the hospital.”

Shampoo began to shake. Ranma was still alive. If he was unconscious
then he had not gone willingly, and if he was in the hands of the Musk
it meant terrible danger. She asked the men how the girl looked. The men
reassured her Ranma-chan did not look too bad. All of her limbs were still
on her. “Did they say where they were going?” She had to find them.

One of the other men spoke up. “I heard the guy in the wolf pelt say
something about the airport. Maybe they’re sending the panda back to China?”

Shampoo thanked the men and ran off. Herb would not bother taking Ranma
to a hospital. It had to be a lie. If the Musk were going back to China
and were taking Ranma along, and that seemed to be what they were doing,
that meant they had something terrible in store. One of the rumors that
came down from the lands of the Musk was that Herb had developed a taste
for revenge against those that he felt wronged him, and Ranma had a bad
tendency to irritate the hell out of all those around him.

Shampoo grabbed a cab and went to the nearest airport. If they were not
there, then she would go to the next one. And if not there, then the next
one. She would search until she found them, and she had to do it quickly.
If the Musk made it back to China, where they had more resources, it would
be almost impossible to stop them. Not that stopping them now was going
to be easy. Shampoo was exhausted from traveling overland, trying to catch
up to Ranma and the others. And then she would have to stop the Musk single-handed;
there was no time to summon the others. But she had to try something;
after all, it was all her fault Ranma was in this mess. If she had not
been so caught up in self-pity, she would have been there and could have
warned them about how dangerous the Musk really were. At the very least
she could have gone along and helped. She could have kept Ranma from harm.

And there was something else. She had not really wanted Ranma harmed,
but he had angered her so much that, for a brief while, she did wish something
unpleasant would happen to him. Her own words came back to haunt her.

“Boys that play with girls hearts go to very bad place, Ranma. Hope you
go there soon.”

Well, he was on his way to a very bad place. It appeared to Shampoo that
she got her wish after all. She tried hard not to cry.

And failed miserably.

Shampoo arrived at the second nearest airport and began asking around
if anyone had seen the members of the Musk or Ranma. After about a half
hour she was rewarded by a ticket seller that remembered seeing a youth
in a wolf pelt walking around and accosting women, until he was dragged
off by a man with white hair. Shampoo found out there was a private charter
heading to China, and went to the gate it was at.

She arrived at the part of the terminal she was directed to and asked
one of the people there about the flight.

“I can show you. This way.” He directed Shampoo to follow him to one
of the windows and pointed to a flight that was taking off. “Oops. Looks
like they left on time. Well, that sure doesn’t happen often. Sorry.”
The man turned and left.

Shampoo watched the plane take off into the distance.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!”

She drove her fist through the large viewing window, shattering it. Blind
panic flooded her thoughts. She had to get to China immediately. If the
Musk made it to their fortress, there was no way Ranma and the others
could be rescued. The fortress was impregnable. She had to get to them
before they reached their lands. Shampoo headed for the nearest ticket
counter to get the first available flight to China. Only one plane that
was leaving within the hour had any seats available. Once Shampoo heard
the name she knew why.

The Skywrap Airline was more commonly known as “Deathtrap Airways.” Their
record number of crashes in one year rivaled all the other accidents the
other airlines had in that same amount of time, combined. They were cleared
of wrongdoing every time, but the general consensus was you were taking
your life in your own hands if you traveled on them. As Shampoo boarded
the plane, the pilot managed to poke himself in the eye when he saluted
the passengers.

Ranma was not the only one that was probably doomed.

The flight started out uneventfully, with the flight making it to China
without any problems. While they were still approaching Tokami, the problems
started. The pilot came over the intercom of the plane and told them they
had to make an emergency landing short of their destination.

Shampoo stormed the cockpit. “We have to go on! A person’s life is in
danger!”

“Look, Miss,” the pilot said. “We are having a great deal of difficulty
here. If we don’t make an emergency landing, we’re going to go down. Believe
me, I’ve crashed enough times to know it’ll take you longer to get where
you’re going if we wreck instead of making the landing.”

Shampoo knew the man was right, even if she did not want to admit it.
“How long will repairs take?”

“The number two engine just fell off, sir,” the co-pilot informed everyone.

“They might take a little while.”

After they landed, Shampoo tried to find a connecting flight, but to
no avail. The next one scheduled to leave was a full day away. Herb would
have an impossible lead. She could never hope to overtake him. Now she
had to decide her next course of action. Time was certainly of the essence.
Herb could kill Ranma at any time, and Shampoo was certain that was what
kidnapping Ranma would lead to. Nothing she had ever heard indicated Herb
knew the first thing about mercy.

She could try to contact the others and have them fly here, but that
would take time she did not have. Even if they somehow managed to breach
walls that only the greatest of the Amazons was able to do, they would
still have to defeat the Musk and their soldiers. She wasn’t even certain
they could defeat Herb, Lime, and Mint in a straight up fight, let alone
having a hundred soldiers crawling all over them.

How many people could she bring? Akane, Kodachi, and Ukyou might be able
to hold their own against Herb and company. There was an outside chance
the four of them could succeed where Ranma and the boys had failed, but
it was a terrible risk. Genma and Soun? They might be able to take care
of some ordinary guards, but against the Musk they would be useful only
as cannon fodder. Their best days were behind them. Kunou was a buffoon
that crumpled under one or two blows. Minami was in Bolivia. Happosai
was still missing since his dismissal by Thor. She could not rely on help
from the kidnapped victims. It was doubtful Herb would leave them in any
shape to assist in an escape, if they were even alive by then. And Herb
would have to be dealt with in some manner.

Shampoo pulled her hair in frustration. She would end up being in charge,
which meant everything that happened would be her responsibility. She
would have to guide an entire group of people in a land foreign to them
to a lethal enemy, while hoping to maintain a low-enough profile that
they could somehow sneak into an impregnable fortress with far superior
forces that was controlled by a ruthless and powerful ruler, that even
her great grandmother preferred to give a wide berth. And what if they
failed? There would be nothing but corpses left. Herb would not casually
disregard any rescue attempts. Even if they succeeded, she could not see
everyone making it out alive. The odds were too great. How would Kasumi
deal with the loss of a sister and her father?

Shampoo did not think she could do it, help lead people she knew to their
deaths. If only there was some way to get into the fortress without anyone
finding out. Her mind fled back to the tour she gave herself when she
was there. She discovered no secret passages. The walls were impenetrable,
weren’t they? Then it occurred to her. There was a way in. An incredibly
dangerous and risky way in. It appeared her vow of climbing that mountain
was about to become true.

When she had gazed down the mountainside she spotted an odd hole farther
down the mountain, just a bit below what would have been the bottom of
the fortress. She had not known what it was until an errant wind current
blew her way. There was no doubting what the smell was. The hole was some
sort of waste disposal system. It made sense since there was nowhere else
to put the stuff. That would be the way into the fortress. Of course using
it meant climbing several thousand feet of more or less sheer rock, but
with Ranma’s life at stake there really was no choice. Not only that,
she was the only one that could do it, and she could set out immediately.
There was no time to contact the others even if she wanted to. Besides,
one person moving in stealth might succeed where many moving openly would
fail.

There was still the Musk to consider, but moving alone allowed her a
certain leeway there too. Aside from Kodachi, Shampoo felt she was the
only one willing to do what would probably have to be done to rescue the
others. And if anything had happened to Ranma, well, the fortress might
have been designed to keep people out, but it could be used to keep people
in almost as easily.

If they did something to Ranma, the halls would run thick with the blood
of the Musk Dynasty and all who stood with them.